Caldwell to honor hometown celebrity, The Amazing Kreskin

CALDWELL -- He appeared 88 times on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson and inspired a movie starring John Malkovich, but The Amazing Kreskin has never been honored by his suburban New Jersey hometown.

That will change on his 75th birthday. At a Caldwell council meeting Tuesday, Kreskin -- who calls himself a mentalist or “professional thought reader” -- will receive a golden key to the borough and hear a proclamation declaring January “The Amazing Kreskin Recognition Month.” Bob Markman, a Rotary Club member and longtime fan, organized the event and loaned the Caldwell library Kreskin memorabilia to put on display.

David Gard/New Jersey Local News ServiceThe Amazing Kreskin will be honored by his hometown of Caldwell at a regular council meeting on Tuesday, which happens to also be his 75th birthday.
Since he grew up in Caldwell as George Kresge, Jr., Kreskin has always considered the area his home base.

“My whole life literally centered around this one square mile as a kid,” Kreskin said in an interview at his rambling North Caldwell house, while on a rare break from life on the road. The never-married bachelor lives there with his cats.

In his conference room, he displays framed photographs of himself with Hollywood stars, a few from an event promoting “The Great Buck Howard,” a 2008 movie that drew its inspiration from Kreskin’s career. In his stock pose, he places his fingers near a famous actor’s forehead as if reading his mind.

Despite his age, the spry Kreskin continues to tour with his novelty act and appears on television with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and late-night comedian Jimmy Fallon. Kreskin hasn’t changed much since he was a teenager, friends say, except his dark hair has turned silvery gray. He’s still tall and thin, wears dark, thick-rimmed glasses and exudes charm. His mind is sharp, but friends say he’s always had a streak of forgetfulness.

“Sometimes, he almost would forget to come over if he had an appointment to see you Saturday night,” said Edward Chubb, 75, who met Kreskin in the fifth grade. “You could be sitting, waiting for him, and he’d forget because he was so involved.”

Growing up, Kreskin lived in a three-room apartment behind a beauty salon on Bloomfield Avenue in Caldwell with his parents and younger brother, Joseph. His father worked for a flashlight manufacturer.

Kreskin’s talent emerged early.

“It got so that we didn’t want to play with him anymore because we thought he could either memorize the cards or read our minds,” said Gene Baisch, of California.

He got his first regular performing gig when he was 10. He wowed his Lincoln Elementary School classmates when he brought a deck of cards to show-and-tell and correctly guessed four of five cards a friend held. He later learned his teacher had sent handwritten letters to each of his grade-school instructors that said, “I don’t understand his gift, but you must support it.”

Kreskin moved from magic to mentalism, hypnotizing one friend who feared the dentist poking her with a needle. Ginny Taetzsch, of Montville, said despite going without novocaine, she didn’t feel any pain: “I don’t know how it works, but it did.”

Kreskin has stayed connected to the community, popping into a North Caldwell council meeting in 2002 to support the high school marching band when neighbors complained about noise.

As he grew famous, Kreskin was asked why he didn’t move to Los Angeles.